Super Bowl XLII: Giants def. Patriots

No team in NFL history had ever finished a season with a 19-0 record and a Super Bowl.

The Patriots' pursuit of perfection was merely seconds away.

Eli Manning's 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress with 35 seconds left helped the New York Giants deny the New England Patriots a 19-0 season and gave New York a 17-14 victory in Super Bowl XLII.

In Week 17, the Patriots narrowly defeated the Giants 38-35, but perhaps the close loss gave New York the confidence it needed when they found themselves playing New England in the Super Bowl.

Oddsmakers had New York as 12-point underdogs but the Giants never stopped fighting and never stopped believing.

The Patriots were the team chasing perfection, but on this night, it was the Giants who were perfect.

George Mason Advances to Final Four

In 2006, George Mason shook not only the basketball world, but the entire foundation of sports.

They became the only first double-digit seed to advance to a Final Four since Louisiana State in 1986.

As an 11th seed, the Patriots defeated powerhouses Michigan State, North Carolina, fellow Cinderella Wichita State and Connecticut in the tournament, of which, UNC and UConn were the two previous national champions.

George Mason's improbable Cinderella ride would end in the Final Four where they would lose in the national semifinal 73-58 to eventual champion Florida.

But in the 2006 Final Four, George Mason of the Colonial Athletic Association, put everything they had on the court and showed the basketball world that dreams can be realized and anything is possible.

1984 NCAA Final: Villanova Stuns Georgetown

Led by one of the future NBA's 50 Greatest Players, Patrick Ewing, Georgetown looked to be a runaway candidate for the NCAA Championship in 1985, after winning it all in 1984.

Villanova, who lost twice to the Hoyas during the regular season, played near flawless basketball, shooting 78.6 percent from the field on the nation's best defense and winning 66-64 denying Georgetown of back-to-back NCAA Championships.

Villanova needed to play the perfect game to defeat Georgetown, and that is exactly what they did in order to win.

The Wildcats of Villanova showed, at least for one game, that they were the pinnacle of greatness.

Super Bowl III: Jets def. Colts

Joe Namath guaranteed a win and made sure it happened.

On Jan. 12, 1969, quarterback Joe Namath delivered on his guarantee with his 206 passing yards while completing 17-28 passes, and his New York Jets to a 16-7 win over the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III, in the first game officially known as the "Super Bowl."

Three days before the game, Namath, while accepting an award, responded to a fan saying, “We're going to win, I guarantee it.”

The Colts went an astounding 13-1 during the regular season and were favored by nearly 20 points against the Jets.

But the Jets shocking upset over the Colts in Super Bowl III not only won over fans to the NFL, but helped build the Super Bowl into the ultimate sports spectacle it is today.

The Miracle on Ice

The Miracle on Ice had every characteristic of what an upset should be.

In the semifinals of the 1980 Winter Olympics the United States went against the Soviet Union team who had routed the Americans earlier in the year 10-3.

The heavily favored Soviets had a team full of full-time hockey players while the United States boasted a group of college and amateur players in a culture not nearly as devoted to hockey as the Soviet Union.

The Soviet Union had won eight of the last nine gold medals in the sport, but the United States had other plans.

Winning by a score of 4-3, the USA shocked the world by not only upsetting the Soviets, but also by defeating Finland 4-2 to claim the gold medal in the 1980 Winter Olympics.